Ahhh... the food is not cheese...it is "hardtack", a hard cracker that sailors would soak in rum. Pulling the whales from the bag while throwing the empty sea tokens back in simulates the slow devastation of the whale population. This is a damn fine game.
@speedandstyletony2 жыл бұрын
Originally called "ship's bisket" it was the staple for food onboard a ship at the time. It could stay usable for years. Basically, just very hard, dry and dense crackers. They were not eaten straight usually but used as an ingredient for other dishes(or dunked in a liquid such as coffee, tea or rum).
@Straddllw8 жыл бұрын
Tom really has a hat for everything.
@miguelramirez59728 жыл бұрын
But does he have a wizarding hat?
@joaocamilo81068 жыл бұрын
He never got the letter.
@hooshyarkarimi95246 жыл бұрын
It matches the Airlines game's colors right behind him. Did he do that on purpose? Did it come with the game?
@jessewest15458 жыл бұрын
I fit my expansion in the base box. You can't toss it all in haphazardly, but it fits.
@a1investigations4338 жыл бұрын
Yeah. It fits. Tight, though.
@Jhoratio7 жыл бұрын
Agree - I was able to get it all in there.
@All_Ice1174 жыл бұрын
But! Did you sleeve the cards?
@jeffhiatt37934 жыл бұрын
Tom, thanks for all the work that you and your team put into these videos. I was already sold on the theming of this game. Your enthusiasm made this a must buy for me.
@RedeemingGraceFellowship8 жыл бұрын
Already pre-ordered the game. Just pre-ordered the expansion because of this review. Thanks Tom!
@tactical_cardboard8 жыл бұрын
Both the game and the expansion can be had for $60 MSRP (much less if you get it from CSI). If anything, you are not out a lot of cash if you buy the base game and decide it is not for you. Therefore, not sure that I mind the game being "split in half" which is Tom's major gripe. I (foollishly) skipped on the kickstarter and looking forward to picking this up since the walkthrough in this review has me excited. :)
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
I got it for $40 yesterday through an online store on BGG. Also includes the white wale promo.
@neeleyfolk8 жыл бұрын
Looks interesting, will check it out. On the Whaling theme, whaling did happen, and that industry did help decimated the whale population, but that economy also built the beautiful new england coastal towns and drew in immigrant families. If playing with your family, make it a learning opportunity, read Moby Dick, visit the area's historical sites and research whaling today.
@annoraner46966 жыл бұрын
Love Moby Dick! Both the Novel and both movies (didn't watched the third yet)
@cbazler8 жыл бұрын
Tom, I'm not sure if it's just on my end, but the video quality looks really jerky now that you're using a higher frame-per-second rate. Anyone else notice this? It was much better before the switch.
@thedicetower8 жыл бұрын
Just drop the quality down and it should be fine on your monitor.
@glenrudis81968 жыл бұрын
Ya. The video was making me nauseous. It was like it was on fast forward. Very disorienting
@josephsibleybridges7 жыл бұрын
I very easily fit the expansion in the main box when I took out the useless insert. Did your copy and expansion come with different stuff?
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
Hey Tom, can you comment on the misprinted tiles found in the base game and expansion? Did it cause the process of playing the game more difficult ?
@ClockFink7 жыл бұрын
So anyone who has tried it, how does this compare to Lords of Waterdeep? It sounds very similar, just that you are trading the quest mechanic for the mechanic of deciding how long to voyage. Is that the case? Or does this pack more depth I'm not seeing? Or alternately, more balanced (since the right quest or building ownership was a game clincher way too often in LoW)?
@lawrencestanley89896 жыл бұрын
People detest whaling? You know, it is a fishing industry, and while I agree that it must be subject to regulation so that we will be good stewards of that particular resource, I simply do not understand the outcry against it... You don't hear people screaming against gigging flounder, but that's a fishing industry, so what's the difference???
@annoraner46966 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the review Tom! At least - for people who read Moby Dick - can shoutout: "Call me Peter" / "There she blows!" and can quote a lot of Moby Dick. But indeed, I had, at first sight also the (wrong) impression of "hunting whales in a game!???". It is't justifed to the game ofc and the game use it as topic. but on the end, nobody of the players kill a whale with those tokens. Also it's a economic game, with an unusual topic, but better than the x-copy of every "selling goods" stuff.
@nicktw86888 жыл бұрын
What next? A seal clubbing game? ...partially joking.
@homelessjoe8 жыл бұрын
Killing whales....wow, what a theme! I'll give them this, at least it's not selling spices in the Mediterranean.
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
it's a piece of American history. And I like that the game doesn't really glorify the whale hunting in any obvious way. The process is extremely abstracted and one could even make up something else. Maybe catching them for research and then letting them loose. I love animals and I am totally against the hunting or abuse of any specie, but the game feels very lighthearted and the mechanisms are really good. Don't let the Theme detract you from playing it.
@neverboardofgaming8 жыл бұрын
Looks fun, but yeah...whaling theme is ehh. If it could just been fishing, that would have been a must buy for me.
@steveg70008 жыл бұрын
Like Dennis Leary used to say in his act:"We need to boycott tuna until they figure out how to keep dolphins from getting caught in the net!""Wait, what about the tuna?""Oh, screw them. They taste good!";)
@tactical_cardboard8 жыл бұрын
Haha, was thinking the same. He also said: "We should have an interview process for animals...Who are you?...I'm an otter....What do you do? I do cute human things with my hands....You are free to go....Who are you? A cow...GET IN THE TRUCK! You're not a cow you are a baseball glove." Lesson: We only want to save the cute ones.
@neverboardofgaming8 жыл бұрын
Hahaha, that is true. #savethecuteanimals Yeah I'd play it, but my gaming group would be like noooo the poor whales!
@steveg70008 жыл бұрын
George Morgan Oh, that is pure gold. But in all seriousness, I think the issue with whales is endangerment(?) Then again, humanity is kind of draining the oceans of all edible critters.
@TC182648 жыл бұрын
I understand its a major problem in many parts of the world, but I enjoy this theme becuase it allows me to reminisce of my breif and awful acting career in my 11th grade English live action "play" of Moby Dick lol.
@EclecticCamel8 жыл бұрын
I love this game but I would add that it's not really that fun at 2 players.
@toddevangelista8 жыл бұрын
I had a demo of this at Origins with me & the creator playing, & I loved it.
@EclecticCamel8 жыл бұрын
Fair enough. Nonetheless, it's better at higher player counts.
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
+TheGreatHamEl In your opinion of course. You make it sound like it's a global fact.
@EclecticCamel8 жыл бұрын
In some cases, it would be subjective. But due to the nature of the mechanisms, it is much less so in this particular case. The Kickstarter came with a two player card variant that works a little better. Have you played or are you being confrontational for the sake of being confrontational?
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
I've played it three times in the last couple of days and I think it works wonderful with two players. I love player interaction but I think with more than three, the game could feel quite chaotic and some people would feel like they would just be buying the buildings that their opponents would interested and not necessarily one's that you'd like. The whaling also feels like it's more fun with less players because with a high count, if you don't get started with the hunting early on, there's a good chance you'll get left out of the good stuff. I would definitely like to play it with the full compliment at some point though. However, I love it with two players and I fully recommend it.
@philliptran92027 жыл бұрын
I live in New Bedford and I am highly offended by this.
@johnsilvers31927 жыл бұрын
Phillip Tran ( A ) its a realistic part of history and it is actually done in the game very well ( B ) they are cardboard pieces you are not actually whaling at any time ..really..( C ) I don't know how many people I run into who said they would not play this game because of the theme which is just stupid because they have no problem playing war games or games where you are killing and slaughtering people but Wales is where you draw the line??? ( D ) You shouldn't be offended at all if you truly do live in New Bedford it is a very large part of your towns history and an important one at that. If anything playing the game reminds you of that fact. It is done very tastefully beautiful artwork and a slight look back in time where the town is being built upon the resources of that time. ( E ) the next time you fire up Call of Duty keep telling yourself that it's only a video game and we will keep telling ourselves that this is only a board game nobody's actually getting hurt that's why they call them games. ( F ) I was just happy that somebody actually came out with a historical theme that had not been regurgitated for once. The bottom line is with any of these historical games you have to put yourself in the time and understand that people were at the mercy of any resource they could gather that would keep the town together. Nobody knew at that time that they would be hunting a creature to near extinction. What they did now is that they had families to feed and whaling was one of the main resources of the time. Not saying that it's right but the game tastefully captures this historical fact.
@BroadwayG6 жыл бұрын
Perhaps killing seals is more palatable?Each player gets a miniature cardboard club to whack tiny stuffed seals, how's that? OR life, death and intrigue on a southern plantation just before the CIVIL WAR? The slave owner with the most slaves wins! Finally, a game called, The Day Lincoln Was Shot, a board game set in Ford's Theater, Oh, so many tasteless themes to choose. What to do, what to do?
@axemrdrer6 жыл бұрын
Pick a different game? Just a thought. Idiot.
@BroadwayG6 жыл бұрын
Hiding in cyber space, in the dark, feeling safe and brave, you allow your mouth to spew feces at strangers. Not one of your best thoughts. Just saying. Cretino.
@benlauson5555 жыл бұрын
That seal game sounds fun. Have you played 'Josef Mengele the Misunderstood Physician?' It's not bad simple resource management.
@Dr_C_Smith5 жыл бұрын
That second game already exists. It’s called Puerto Rico.
@boardgamefangirl3 жыл бұрын
Speaking of Lincoln getting shot, in Fall of 2020 (4 years after this review) there is a Kickstarter game about said trial-"Unforgiven: The Lincoln Assassination Trial" which "is a 2-player card and dice development game about passion and justice that revisits the 1865 trial of Mary Surratt, one of eight put on trial for conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln and other members of his cabinet." Not sure this is a tasteless theme. Like New Bedford, it's a historical theme.
@MrRadialdrift8 жыл бұрын
Not really sure why Tom thinks it is intriguing to pay to use someones building, many other games have this mechanic.
@smoothcriminal288 жыл бұрын
I feel like the entry fee should be higher than one coin. I wouldn't mind being blocked for my building for the duration of the round, for say... $2 But just getting one coin feels like a slap in the face. That's one of the reasons why I feel like playing with the full player count wouldn't be so much fun. I get this feeling that you'd be building the things that are other players are looking for the whole game.
@MrRadialdrift8 жыл бұрын
Other games do this better, Caylus, Praetor, Keyflower, Lords of Waterdeep, and Le Harve. I would be surprised if Tom hasn't played any of these games, hence why it seems strange that he thinks this is intriguing.
@antone1azet8 жыл бұрын
I'm always puzzled why designers (or producers?) choose so obscure themes to their games lately. Whales? I know that "Trading in the Mediterranean" is overused but I would prefer it to these weird themes. Please stop making these strange games. It's almost creepy.
@jessewest15458 жыл бұрын
The designers live/lived in the region of the the US that this took place. Whaling was an important step in the industrialization of our country. Oil powered it's progress. It's not weird, strange or creepy. It historic. One of the most iconic pieces of American literature was inspired by the whaling industry. Ever heard of Moby Dick ?
@ThomasMcCancejr8 жыл бұрын
No way, this is a great theme! Just because the industry isn't relevant anymore doesn't mean it is weird. Read Moby Dick and tell me this theme is weird!
@eofetisov8 жыл бұрын
I'm always puzzled why people like you think they can decide what designers should do. This is what is truly creepy, but not using very original underused historical themes for boardgames.
@tactical_cardboard8 жыл бұрын
The designer and publisher have both gone on record addressing the sensitivity of the theme and saying that they do not in any way condone whaling or how it was done, etc. And I have yet to hear anyone that has played the game say that it really made them feel like a whale hunter.
@MrRadialdrift8 жыл бұрын
He is not deciding what designers should do, he is making a point that they find it off putting, which it is for some people. The theme of this game doesn't add anything to the experience, it is a very typical WP and not doing anything new.
@MrRadialdrift8 жыл бұрын
I played this game recently with the expansions and its, meh, just another generic worker placement in an over saturated category with a different slapped on theme. Gets boring very quick.